


rusted out.

by sam_roulette



Series: as it should be. [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mars Exploration Rovers, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27292459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam_roulette/pseuds/sam_roulette
Summary: Dr. Daniel Stoker and intern astronaut Martin Blackwood have landed on Mars for some quick repairs of the Martian exploration rover.
Relationships: Danny Stoker & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Series: as it should be. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992733
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	rusted out.

“Hey, buddy,” Danny says, wiping the dust from the highest plane of the rover that he can reach, “looks like you got yourself in a bit of a jam here,”

“Rather more like a mud, to be honest,” Martin says just behind him, voice slightly tinny from where it crackles through the dead space within Danny’s helmet. 

“I mean, leave it to this big guy to find the only mud in existence on Mars, honestly,” Danny laughs, tilting the camera mounted at the very top down a bit. A bit more softly, he says, “Now just what are we going to do with you…?”

He waits for a second to see if  _ Expedition _ will perk up at the sound of other voices, but the rover remains silent and still. Which is a shame! Danny had outfitted his boy with the capability to pick up on nearby comms radio just for this very purpose; to show the most rudimentary recognition that others were nearby and not just giving directions from earth. It’s no fancy neural networking technique or AI builder, since it’s not as though he had been trying to create sentient life. It just gets the job done for showing when the  _ Expedition  _ is alert and attentive.

Well. Usually. Usually it gets the job done.

_ “Reminder that you only have six hours of oxygen before you need to return to base,”  _ Jon crackles over both their helmets,  _ “I suggest not wasting it.” _

“Small talk is hardly a waste of oxygen,” Danny can hear the frown in Martin’s voice.

_ “I rather think that dismal joke of yours counts as one.” _

“You do know that responding to you is also wasting valuable oxygen right?” Danny interjects, “We only have six hours, Jon. If we keep going, we might be down to half of that in the next few minutes!” 

Jon sputters for a moment before the tiny  _ beep  _ of the communication being put on mute sounds. Both Danny and Martin snicker at each other for a moment beside the partially buried  _ Expedition _ rover, caught slightly off guard. “That-” Martin says, “That was faster than normal,”

“Oh God yeah, it was,” Danny grins behind the glass of his head covering, “I should have been running a timer on that-! Oh, and, sorry for scaring your lover away, I guess,”

Now it’s Martin’s turn to stutter about how it’s really not like that at all, and what is Danny even saying, and what if Jon  _ hears,  _ while Danny takes a little step back to size up the damage to the rover that they’d been sent up to fix. Danny had, of course, been joking about  _ Expedition _ finding mud, because Mars is still about as barren as anything besides the few icy bits. What isn’t a joke, though, is the sheer amount of sand that seems to have penetrated the hull of the rightmost flank, possibly obstructing a few of  _ Expedition’s _ processors and causing its abnormal lack of response now. 

Lack of response in person, Danny means. On earth, the readings received from  _ Expedition _ were simply all over the damn place.

Dr. Daniel Stoker, flanked by an astronaut who’s still working his way through the proper training process, begins the arduous task of hauling the sand away from  _ Expedition.  _

It’s made easier than it normally might have, since both of them have shovels, but Danny’s mind is still on the strange malfunction that must have allowed the sand to get in in the first place. How could it have slipped through all their testing and only now become a problem, nine years after the initial touchdown of the rover on Mars?

As Danny dusts away some of the red detritus from  _ Expedition’s _ metal tubing, Jon crackles over the communications,  _ “Weather patterns appear to be shifting. There appears to be signs of a dust devil coming your way at 0500 hours, southeast wind.” _

Martin asks, “Any word on speed?” 

_ “Considering the fact that our largest measure of that is currently going through a deep dusting, I’d say no.” _

“10-4,” Danny says, stepping back. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

And it really doesn’t. It takes maybe an hour more, at most, after which Martin is in the process of screwing a new cover over the previously exposed metal. Danny looks over the enormous rover, his pride and joy, and smiles loudly. “Alrighty bud- looks like you’re off scot-free,”

For the first time since they’ve begun working,  _ Expedition’s _ camera swivels in their direction, the lens focusing on Danny. It beeps three short, jaunty beeps in response. Logically, Danny knows that it’s meant to do that, since he programmed it to do so- but there’s a small part of him that can almost believe that  _ Expedition _ is answering him, and maybe sulking a bit while it’s at it. Danny says as much and he can feel the force of Martin’s eye roll from where he stands.

“It’s hardly his fault he got snagged!” Martin says with good humor,  _ “Someone  _ managed to get an entire rover up here with a faulty shield.”  _ Expedition _ beeps again, seemingly in agreement but more likely just because it registers a new voice. Danny thinks that maybe he’s been spending a little too much time with robots lately. 

“Don’t look at me! I was at the testing, same as anyone,” Danny shrugs. Martin shuts off the drill with a resonant little _click,_ not saying anything, and that about ends that. Smiling, Danny pats the smooth plastic cover of the rover and says, “Alright, get on out there,” 

_ Expedition _ beeps in response and begins to amble away, chunky tires kicking up sand as it goes. Danny smiles at the machine rolling off to do its work and turn to Martin. “You did good, rookie- now let’s go wait for our ride.”


End file.
